Boar Hunt with Shotguns, plate 13 from Hunts and Animal Scenes, after Jan van der Straet, called Stradanus

Though born in Bruges and trained in Antwerp, Stradanus spent most of his career in Italy, principally in service to the Medici. In addition to close collaboration with Vasari in his projects, Stradanus enjoyed great success as a designer of tapestries, notably a series of hunting scenes for Grand Duke Cosimo’s villa at Poggio a Caiano. These designs and scores more were sent to Antwerp to be engraved in the city’s flourishing workshops. Supplying designs for engraved series of various subjects, including one devoted to the history of the Medici, became another steady and lucrative activity for Stradanus.